Dravid backs 'integral' Pant to come good
In five innings against the Proteas, Pant, who captained the side in the absence of KL Rahul, only aggregated 58 runs at an average of 14.50 and a strike rate of 105.45. The wicketkeeper-batter also had a sedate IPL, where he scored 340 runs in 14 matches at an average of 30.91, albeit with an aggressive strike rate of 151.79.
Pant has often fallen victim to the off-side trap, repeatedly flashing at the wide delivery outside stumps.
Despite his struggles, Pant has the full backing of India head coach Rahul Dravid, who said the 24-year-old remained an 'integral part' of the Indian T20I.
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"When you're asking people to play a slightly more attacking brand of cricket in the middle overs and to take the game on a little bit more, sometimes it's hard to judge based on two or three games," Dravid said after the washed-out fifth T20I in Bengaluru.
In fact, Dravid was impressed by Pant's intent displayed during the IPL. "I thought he had a pretty good IPL. He might not have looked good on the averages, but his strike rate was really good.
"He looked to move that up a little bit, to where he was probably three years ago. We're going to hope that we can get those kinds of numbers from him at the international level as well. In that process, he might go wrong in a few games."
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Pant being a left-hander, also works to his advantage, according to the Indian head coach. "He remains an integral part of our batting line-up," Dravid continued. "We know what he does with the power he has. The fact that he is a left-hander is very important to us as well in the middle overs.
"And he has played some good knocks. Of course, personally, he would have liked to have scored a few more runs but it's not that concerning. For us, he is certainly a very big part of our plans going ahead in the next few months."
India will next play a T20I series against Ireland, starting on 26 June, but Pant will turn his attention to the rescheduled fifth Test match against England, starting on July 1 in Edgbaston.